Adventure and Photography – Passion for the Outdoors

Homer – A drinking village with a fishing problem

When I first read about Homer the two quotes I found were “Halibut Fishing Capital of the World” and “A Drinking Village with a Fishing Problem”. We were on our way to find out if these two statements were true. This could be an interesting destination!

Homer is located far south-east on the Kenai Peninsula in Kachemak Bay. A natural spot for sports fishing! And the picturesque Homer Spit also attracts its fair share of tourists. The view of Homer Spit with the glacier-studded mountains in the background welcomed us as we approach the village.

The most beautiful part of Homer I found to be the stretch of old colourful buildings sitting on the beach on Homer Spit. Homer Spit is quite a landmark. The spit is basically a long, narrow piece of land leading into Kachemak Bay. I guess no one knows for sure how it was developed, but one of the theories is that is was shaped by ice and moraine.

The spit is tourist attraction number one in Homer and is dotted with businesses, some have more charm that others. The Salty Dawg Saloon is one of the buildings with a history to it. It was originally one of the first cabins built in Homer in 1897. The building has served as everything from post office to school house. It’s location is not original and neither is its lighthouse tower. The saloon’s walls are covered with dollar bills from visitors – you can see some of them on the door in the photo below.

I found Homer a charming village, but it is smalls so a day trip should be sufficient to explore it – unless you are going on one of the adventures that are offered from Homer Spit. The surrounding area has lots to offer – everything from flying into the wilderness to see grizzlies up close to taking a ride across the bay to visit Halibut Cove.

So what is the conclusion – a drinking village or a fishing problem? We definitely saw more halibut than an average person would in a lifetime, but no drinking bonanza.

I never did figure out what the fishing problem was – they seemed to have more than enough fish! 🙂 Would love to say the photos just came out of the camera like that, but it is not exactly true:) They had a quick stop by Lightroom for adding some saturation and clarity. Thanks for your comment!

As soon as I saw the name Homer, I thought about two Homers other than the one you intended: the famous ancient Greek poet credited with the Iliad and the Odyssey, and the American painter Winslow Homer, known for his paintings having to do with the sea:

Most people my age would probably have gone with Homer Simpson instead:) So I had not heard about Winslow Homer before so I had to read up on him in your wiki link. Based on when he lived I thought maybe Homer was named after him since he was painting maritime pictures and Homer is as far out by the sea s you can get. But a quick google search showed Homer is named after for Homer Pennock, a con man who arrived in 1896 and lured others to the Homer area with promises of gold.

Thanks Sue! It was a charming little fishing village. I am thinking it is probably not as charming during winter when the storms come in from the sea. I suspect that is when the drinking comes into effect.

Oh and I should let you know – we went caving in Canmore last weekend. Awesome!

Did you see our dollar at Salty Dawg? That place is a classic, Inger! Homer is where Tom Bodett coined his famous Motel 6 line “We’ll leave the light on for you” when he was doing a show for NPR in the 1980’s. 🙂

No, had I known you had left one there I would have looked for it for sure:)
I have to say I have never heard of Tom Bodett or his Motel 6 commercials before (probably never made it to Norwegian radio) – but after a quick search on youtube I did find him:)

Such a great post ~ the scenic shots (something about a coastline that reels me in…). Had a friend in college who every summer headed up to Homer to work and always invited me to go but I always stuck around my home town working harvest. However, your words and photos make me dream a bit right now. 🙂

Thanks Randall! I also have a soft spot for coast lines. Just sitting on a rock watching the waves and listening to the sounds – I could do it for hours! Too bad you didn’t jump on the opportunity to spend a summer in Homer. I am sure you would have loved it! There is of course not only the town, but the surrounding area and outdoor adventures close by….now I a dreaming a bit:)

Thank you Jim! I am sure one could spend much longer exploring the surrounding areas. Seemed to be a lot of kayaking and hiking opportunities in the area that we didn’t have the chance to explore this time. Did you guys go over to Halibut Cove? Thanks for stopping by.

What a beautiful village. I love the colours of the beach buildings. They look fabulous against the blue sky. Your pictures are excellent as usual, Inger, and what a great quote to get us interested in it. 🙂

The quite is what made me interested in going to this village in the first place so I thought it would be appropriate to include it:) We didn’t see anything to the drinking though – suspect that is a winter thing when the storms start rolling in. Thanks for your comment Jane!

Yes, the log cabin was quite special. It is one of the first cabins build in Homer so it is pretty old as well. We didn’t try our luck with fishing in this spot, we stuck with river fishing in Soldotna. But there were several who had a line in the water. I didn’t stick around to see if they got anything but I am sure they did. Thanks for stopping by Maurice!

Yes! That is exactly what I thought as well since we didn’t notice any reckless drinking during our visit. I am sure they need something to keep them warm when those winter storms roll in. Thanks for stopping by!

Agreed – it was stunning! The ocean and the glacier-studded mountains. Beautiful! And a small cup of hot ‘toddy’ during winter is just cozy:) Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment Jo!

Thank you – the view over the water to the mountains is the first thing you see when you approach Homer so I right away got a feeling this was going to be a lovely day – and it was! I would tend to agree with you – who doesn’t need a little something to keep warm during a winter storm:) Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment!

It is always interesting to discover the tag-lines of these small towns in the United States. We have been enthralled with discovering Gilroy, California as the “Garlic Capital of the World,” and Prescott, Arizona as “Everybody’s Home Town.”

I also found the colourful buildings particularly charming – especially with the blue sky in the background. And I am a sucker for coast lines, so I was sold in this place immediately:) Thank you for your sweet comment!

Homer was a lovely place to visit – so interesting that this community has established as far west on Kenai as you get, long ways from other civilisation. Thank you so much for your comment and for stopping by!

Thank you so much for your sweet comment! I loved those red buildings against the blue sky, really makes the red pop right? Such a great place for photos. Thanks for stopping by. Espero que tenga un buen fin de semana.

Inger & Tor

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